Footprints in the sand
by MeliLouiseNorth
Summary: A gender swapped little mermaid. Lukas a young merman who has come of age to find himself a mate, finds one in the most peculiar of places, unfortunately for him it's a human and his father the king of the sea has a dislike for humans, how will Lukas get his dream girl? Will his dream girl like him too? Read and find out. Rating will stay there in case any bad language or violence.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello! North here. So I had a bit of inspiration from another fanfic a little like this one, but it was a gender swapped beauty and the beast.**

 **I hope you enjoy and do come on this journey with me.**

 **I own nothing**

 **Please read and review**

* * *

 **Footprints in the sand**

The sea was calm this early June morning, waves gently lapping at the golden shore of the equally calm beach of the small seaport town the people that lived in this town was preparing for their beloved princess to return from visiting their far away neighbours. It was her birthday soon and she could not miss out on spending it in the town that she loved the most, the town known as Esbjerg, it was also the easiest to get back to from London and then get from there to her home in Copenhagen took at least a four day ride. But the princess had not arrived yet, she should be returning later in the evening.

So because their princess was coming home after being away for a good week and a half she decided she was going to rest for a for days, maybe a week at her family's seaside holiday home that her parents allowed her to use as and when she pleased was preparing for her arrival, food, clean clothes, drinks, and a fire in her room to warm it up. The holiday home was more like a small castle, not as big as the one in Copenhagen but it was nice, peaceful place that she could also take long walks on the beach when she felt bored.

* * *

Underneath the waves life was also buzzing merfolk and other sea animals had gathered at the sea king's palace, his daughters and only son where hosting a show, celebrating their sweet little brother coming of age. The all gossiped excitedly as they wondered what lucky mermaid would have their brother as a mate.

"Lukas sit still; your hair needs a brush" the oldest sibling said as she pushed her youngest and only brother back down on the chair. "Oh why couldn't I have your hair colour, it's so bright" she said softly as she touched his fiery red hair that reached just to the top of his neck.

"Not good when trying to hide from sharks though" he said as he looked up at her with a grin as she finished neatening his hair, to which he shook his head and his hair was back to its messy just rolled out of clam look. His blue eyes gleamed playfully at his sister.

She sighed and shook her head, although with a small smile on her face at her brothers' antics. "What are we to do with you?" She asked herself softly before looking at the sixteen year old merman "I remember when you first hatched out of your egg, and now look at you." She said gesturing to his lean muscular body. "You're all grown up and ready to find yourself a wife." She said.

Lukas sighed, he knew this was coming, he had it from all of his sisters all five, now the sixth, it was fitting that she was last. "Tina" he sighed using her nickname "I'll always be your little brother, no matter where I'll be." He said with a soft smile as he swam up to her and held her close.

"You're right" she finally said after a few minutes of hugging him. "Thank you, you're a wonderful brother." Attina smiled and kissed his cheek as she wiped her tears away. "Now come otherwise we'll be late." She said as she quickly left to where the rest of her sisters where backstage. Lukas was just about to follow; he was needed behind the veil of seaweed to get into the large clam at the centre of the stage, so when his sisters where singing and the clam would open to reveal Lukas. But, before he left the room he heard a voice calling his name.

He turned to the large window and his eyes searched the area before finally seeing a small yellow flipper and then a small fish poke its small body over the side. "Florence!" He exclaimed happily as he swam over. "What are you doing here? I thought you were in the audience." He said as he picked the yellow and blue fish up and tickled under her fin, making te small fish squeal in delight and move away from his fingers.

"I heard about a new shipwreck, want to go see if there is any shinny tail bracelets are there?" She asked as she smiled up at him.

Lukas grinned, he could never turn down an offer like that, he looked at the door, he'll be back in time he said to himself before nodding and swiftly swimming out of the window. "Do you know where it is?" He asked his companion as his strong tail propelled him forward.

"Sure do!" Florence replied as she turned sharply left. "Come on this way!" She called, Lukas quickly caught up to her as they headed to the shipwreck.

* * *

Back on the surface a large ship was gently sailing across the ocean, a young girl of eighteen with ebony black hair pulled into a low bun her bright blue eyes stared down at the water, wanting something to come up, something more interesting than dolphins.

"Your grace!" An elderly voice snapped which caused the young woman of nobility to turn around with a start. "It is not lady like to lean so far over the edge like that" the older man scolded her. "What would you do if you fell in the water?" He asked as he shook his head.

"Sorry Alfred, I thought I saw something and wanted a better look." She said with a sheepish grin.

"So much that you would fall off the boat to get a better look?" He raised an eyebrow sceptically, he knew how much of a day dreamer she could be and sometimes forget about her own safety. "Be more careful Eleanor." He warned her, this time as a long time family friend not just her butler, before quickly switching back. "Your tea is ready in your room your grace."

"Thank you Alfred." She said with a smile, before moving though she looked back over her shoulder to stare out at the waves, that glittered like diamonds as the light hit them. Eleanor remembered the stories she was told as a child that there where creatures down there that looked like them from the waist up but had colourful scaly tails that glittered as they moved though the water, like the waves did. She remembered that her mother told her that if she ever fell into the sea, one might come to her aid.

Eleanor shook her head as Alfred called her again. "I'm coming!" She called as she walked quickly to catch up to the elder and then went to her room to slowly enjoy the food and biscuits placed there as she relaxed into her favourite food.

* * *

 **Well that's it so far, what do you think?**

 **If you have any ideas please do share them.**

 **I will see you next time**

 **North out!**

 **Please read and review**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello! North again, time for chapter two! Are you excited?**

 **I hope you enjoy and do come on this journey with me.**

 **I own nothing**

 **Please read and review**

* * *

 **Footprints in the sand**

Under the waves Lukas and Florence found the shipwreck, Lukas never understood why the humans needed to have so many, in so many different sizes and colours too, they all looked the same to him. Just big bulky things that seemed to end up at the bottom of the sea, did humans play to do that? Maybe it was a present to the merfolk as Lukas always found something interesting in there. But then the boy remembered his father, how he always got angry when he had been caught going to the surface, he never explained why he hated them, but the more his father tried to stop his son from going and learning about humans, the more Lukas went to do it anyway, sometimes he was just too curious for his own good.

"So this is it?" He asked his loyal companion as he slowly swam over to find a hole big enough to slip though. Once locating one he quickly slipped through. "Come on Florence." He said before swimming away.

Florence gasped and quickly swam in after him, she loved and hated exploring the ships, but she refused to let Lukas go alone, she loved seeing what they could find, it was all so interesting and strange all at the same time. She hated that the ships always were in some dark place that sharks swam round in waiting for unsuspecting prey to wonder into its territory.

Lukas was picking up objects, small wooden boxes with intricate designs engraved in them, a set of strange metals that where all different shapes and sizes all on a large metal hoop, everything he could find that he hadn't seen before he picked up and put into a bag, his sea blue eyes looked at everything in awe and wonder as he carefully examined it, only wondering what the humans used it for, perhaps the large loop where like the tail bracelets. He tried it on his head, it stayed for a moment but as the keys hung in front of his face they slowly slid off, he then tried it on his tail but found that with the extra weight on his tail he was unable to move it as much, so that was a no then. He took it off and stuffed it into his bag.

Florence hated this because she worried about getting caught, and she knew what Lukas' father was like when it came to anything remotely related to the surface, he would get so mad. But she also knew she could not deny her friend his love for everything that was human related and his curious mind could not be stopped, no matter how much anyone tried.

"Florence look at th-" Lukas was suddenly interrupted by a loud crash and some of the old wet wood splintering at the force of whatever had hit it. Before Lukas could move a small chuck of wood came his way and lightly scratched his face.

He didn't even think twice about what he was doing as he swam over to Florence and grabbed her, tightly tucking her under his arm as he sped out of the ship and looked for some cover. Once a safe distance he hid himself and Florence as best as he could behind a large rock, Lukas looked around quickly and saw some odd shaped metal that were linked together, he wouldn't fit but Florence could.

Lukas whispered his idea to her, she gulped and nodded softly, she could do this no problem, so she swam out, spotting the shark circling the ship, waiting for its prey, sharks scared her but she knew she had to do this so they could get away with all fins still in one piece.

"Clam for brains!" She shouted boldly to get the sharks attention, it looked at her before slowly moving to her, like a cat stalking a mouse, waiting patiently for it to keel over. Florence bolted and the shark took the bait, Florence was darted in and out of things, under fallen bits of wood, before finally leading the shark back to the links, she darted through no bother, but the shark couldn't stop himself and got his nose stuck tightly in one of the hoops.

Lukas cheered and praised the small fish, he didn't know where he would be without her, Florence was a good and loyal friend. He then gasped as he remembered the musical. He was going to be in so much trouble for missing it.

"Come on Florence I'm in really hot water now, father is going kill me." He gulped slightly as he was going to have to explain to his father where he suddenly disappeared too, this Lukas knew was not going to end well.

* * *

After dropping off his bag of human items in his secret grotto he swam back to the castle. Lukas remembered overhearing humans talking about a legendary city that used to be above the water, but then something terrible happened to it and it sunk to the bottom of the ocean lost forever. But those who believe in mermaids like to think that the merfolk is getting at least some use out of it. He wondered if his home and this sunken human city were the same thing but then he shook his head, they all called this city Atlantis, his home was Alantica.

He swam into the castle and slowly moved into the throne room. He could already see his father's scowl on his much older face. Oh dear he was in big trouble

His father was quite a sight to behold, he was very muscular, that was needed to be a good strong leader, he was able to defend his people. He also had a long white bread that just touch his dark teal tail. His large crown sat proudly on his head, Lukas always wondered was it him who would get the crown and the trident because he was the only boy? That's what the humans did anyway, or was it to be his oldest sister Attina to carry that burden.

"And where have you been?" His father bellowed loudly, his voice commanding and demanded a reasonable explanation as he frowned at his son. Otherwise Lukas will quickly find himself grounded

Lukas bit his lip and swam forward to come closer to his father, yes his father, Triton was strict but Lukas knew that his father cared deeply for him.

"Well father…I was going to come but I saw these fish….getting chased by a huge shark!" He exclaimed Lukas was never any good when it came to making up stories. "And this shark was chasing them round a…a shipwerk, I couldn't just let the shark do that father, I felt bad just watching." He explained very lamely.

"What's that mark on your face?" His father asked as his brown eyes narrowed onto the spot.

 _"Seahorses!"_ Lukas cursed to himself, he had forgotten about that. "This….just a scratch father" he said as casually as one could, he tried to smile slight up at him but his father instead glared more.

"You have been up to something these past weeks Lukas." Triton wasn't happy with his son, he knew is son was doing something, but what he couldn't understand, and what was more frustrating is that he could never catch him. "This whole musical was about you, and you ruined it by gallivanting off somewhere."

"I'm sixteen father." Lukas counted "I'm old enough to make my own decisions." He tried to argue back, deep down he knew it was useless. But he needed some excuse, he wanted to go out and explore, not just settle down just yet.

"Apparently you're not!" His father snapped before taking a deep breath "you're sixteen yes, but that means you look for a suitable mate, not chasing sharks." His father sighed as he rubbed his forehead, feeling a headache about to start. "Lukas, there are plenty of pretty mermaids out there that would be more than happy to call you their mate."

"But father, they would only do that because they like my title, not me." He sighed as he turned away it was useless, he knew he couldn't change his father's mind, either Lukas was going to find himself a mate, or his father would do it for him. Lukas swam out of the palace and up to the surface, it was dark out now but he didn't care just meant that he couldn't be seen very well, he pushed himself up onto a rock and leaned back.

"He doesn't understand…why won't father listen to me?" He asked himself as he looked up at the star filled sky, he once heard that if you see a shooting star and make a wish on it, the wish will come true. At the time he didn't know what a shooting star looked like, but then he overheard someone explaining it to a rather small human boy.

Lukas saw one shooing through the sky, he gasped at how quickly it came and went, but before it disappeared into the night Lukas made his wish.

"I wish to find someone who doesn't care about titles or about my interests." He said softly as his eyes closed briefly and titled his head back as he felt the cool breeze wash over him.

He suddenly bolted up right as he heard screaming and shouting, odd noises that he couldn't describe. He looked over and saw two large ships next to each other, what he thought looked strange to him was that humans where hurting other humans…but why?

Lukas jumped into the water and swam over as quickly as he could. He jumped up and just about caught a ledge where he could clearly see what was going on, but in all the panic the humans wouldn't see him. He looked around and saw two big men corner a girl who had silky black hair that had strands falling out, she looked upset as he light blue eyes watched them both.

The men grabbed the girl who struggled in their grip, trying hard to escape their hold. "Hey mate look what I found." One said as he held something small and shiny that was around the females' neck. He quickly snapped it off of her neck to get a better look. "Real silver and natural ruby's, this is going to make us a fortune." They grinned at each other as the one that was holding the girl roughly tossed her away, she stumbled and hit her head on the side of the ship, her eyes closed. A moment later he saw her slowly pull herself up. Lukas worried what they were going to do.

"Sink this ship!" One shouted and after that the ship rocked violently right after a loud explosion, causing the man to fall and let go of the sparkly object that slid off the ship and down into the water. The girl who was still unsteady fell off as well.

Lukas let go of the ship and plunged back into the water, he saw her struggle to move upwards and swam quickly over to her, grabbing her under the arms and started to swim up, she had sunk pretty far, and for her size she was surprisingly heavy. He knew that humans needed air and couldn't breathe under the water so he had to get her up to the surface quickly. The girl thrashed more in his hold and hit his chest, trying to get him off of her. But she soon couldn't hold her breath any longer and succumbed to the darkness.

* * *

He swam to the closest shore, making sure her head was above the water and dragged her onto it. It felt like the journey had taken him hours, so much it had him panting slightly from swimming with the extra weight he laid down beside her…what did he see humans do? Their chest rose and fell didn't it? He checked carefully watching as her chest did indeed move up and down.

He finally got a good look at her face, pale skin, jet black hair that cascaded down her back, free from its original position. She had a slim face and long black eyelashes.

"If only I could get to know you, not watch you from afar, if only I could learn your name and see what you look like smiling." He said with a sigh before shaking his head. "But we are from two different worlds, you're a human and I'm a merman…..father wouldn't be happy with this, but if getting to know you means and I was able to have you as my mate, I would do it." He said as he leaned over and gently kissed her forehead.

The girl started to move and cough, water coming out of her mouth. Lukas quickly pushed himself back and away from her as he started to see her eyes, while they looked glazed and unfocused she still was opening them. He got a glimpse of pretty light blue eyes before he had to push himself out of sight and back into the water, going behind a rock to watch her from there.

She slowly sat up and looked around in confusion, she knew she heard someone talking, but it was weird he said that he would make her his mate, and that her was a merman….but mermaids and merman didn't really exist…do they?

* * *

 **Well that's the second chapter done, what do you think?**

 **If you have any ideas please do share them.**

 **I will see you next time**

 **North out!**

 **Please read and review**


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